In
the Mavericks’ three preseason games, the fourth quarter has been the exclusive
domain of players who are either desperate to make the team or trying to get
from deep on the bench into the rotation.

The results of the individual performances have been a mixed bag by Devin
Ebanks, Renaldo Balkman and others.

Next up might be Fab Melo, who perhaps is the most likely member of the
fivesome that is playing on make-good contracts to have a shot at making the
final roster even though he hasn’t played much.

A shot, mind you. Nothing more, as yet.

The Mavericks have 15 guaranteed contracts. It’s going to be hard for any of
the nonguaranteed guys to displace somebody who has money assured to him. But
it’s happened before. And with Brandan Wright likely to start the season either
on the injured list or just coming back from a shoulder fracture, the Mavericks
would lean toward keeping an extra big man.

Samuel Dalembert, DeJuan Blair, Bernard James, Melo and Wright are the only
players on the roster who can fill in at center. Dalembert is the starter.
Blair, James and Wright all are undersized either in height or weight.

That leaves Melo, the 2012 first-round pick of the Boston Celtics who is a
full-blown 7-foot, 255 pounds.

That’s the body type the Mavericks need.

The question is whether Melo can play well enough to convince the Mavericks
that they can cut a guaranteed contract — and Melo would have to clearly outplay
somebody like James, who has a guaranteed $789,000 contract, to make that
happen.

He knows what he’s up against, and he’ll probably get a decent run of playing
time during the upcoming three preseason road games that start Wednesday at
Indiana. He played 13 minutes in the exhibition opener and 90 seconds on Monday
against Orlando. He did not play in the second preseason game.

Melo understands the odds are stacked against him. But because of his size,
he will get a long look.

“It is tough,” he said of the 15 guaranteed contracts. “But competition is
part of the game. You know the league is like that. But I do have size. You
can’t teach that. So I try to take advantage of that.”

All the while hoping he can showcase his skills to the Mavericks — and other
scouts who are watching around the NBA.

Because of his size — four inches taller and 25 pounds heavier than James —
Melo has a chance, however slim it might be.

Rebounding
woes: The day after his team got outrebounded 54-32 by Orlando, coach
Rick Carlisle on Tuesday did something he doesn’t like to do.

“Hey, we did live-rebound drills at practice, which I hate doing because
there’s a lot of banging, there’s a lot of bodies flying around,” Carlisle said.
“But we needed to do it and we needed to make a point: Ball’s in the air, we’ve
got to go get it. If we don’t, we’re not going to win. Pretty simple.”

Live-rebound drills tend to get competitive and sometimes put players in
compromising positions. So it’s a physical drain, and injuries have been known
to occur.

But sometimes, drastic measures are needed.

Calderon
is back: Point guard Jose Calderon practiced for the first time in two
weeks and said his left hamstring felt great.

“I’m really happy to join my teammates,” he said. “It was just taking some
time off to make sure everything was right. I did everything and no pain,
nothing.”

Actually, Carlisle said Calderon was eased into practice. But the point is
clear: The projected starter at point will begin meshing with his new teammates
Saturday against Charlotte. He will not play Wednesday at Indiana.

“The fact that he’s on the court is pleasing to me,” Carlisle said. “He’s
going to be fine. He went through about half of the things we did today, just to
introduce him back into some real practice. Pulled him out just
precautionarily.”

Asked if four preseason games would be enough to get Calderon and his new
teammates on the same page, Carlisle said: “It’s going to have to be. He should
do fine. He’s done what he’s needed to do to get himself back feeling great. Now
he’s got to get back into doing hard work on the court.”